Of Fruit Tarts and Sea Mammals
by Cytisus
Summary: Total fluff piece, W/M pairing. Wildwing's ready to pop the question, but the night doesn't go exactly as planned...
1. Chapter 1

It's been a while since I've written fanfiction for this show. I forgot how much I enjoyed the idea of these two as a pair. :) Total fluff warning, slightly out-of-character W/M, rated Teen for implied adult content more than anything.

Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series copyright Disney, used with no intent to sell. Puckworld 'traditions/culture' and Mallory's history copyright me, as neither is mentioned in the show.

* * *

Wildwing fumbled with the box in his hand like it was coated with butter before managing to slip it into his pocket.

Saying he was nervous was an understatement.

He glanced at himself in the mirror in his room, smoothing the thick ruffle of feathers on the top of his head out of habit more than anything. He was in his street clothes: blue jeans and a basic t-shirt beneath a windbreaker jacket. Earth's style was a bit simpler than Puckworld's, and he actually enjoyed it.

He had never been very stylish on his home world.

It wasn't his intention to be casual tonight, but the female mallard currently taking a shower in his bathroom hadn't wanted to get dressed up.

One of the many reasons he loved her, in fact.

Granted, Mallory had no problem dressing up and going shopping, but it honestly was a mood thing with her. More often than not he'd see her opt for a brutal kickboxing session in the gym, practicing her puck shots on the ice, or even lounging in sweats in her room and watching a movie.

Okay, well, the sweats and movie thing was probably only something he'd seen.

The shower turned off in the bathroom, so Wildwing double-checked his pants pocket to make sure the box was tucked out of eyeshot.

They'd been together for almost two years, now. The rest of the team had only known about them for a year and half, though.

Sneaking around had not been easy.

Becoming an item in the first place was something of a fluke. Sort of.

Wildwing had liked Mallory from when he first met her: she had a respect for her teammates and to him that went far beyond strict military training. She probably would never admit it, but Wildwing could see that professional relationships were equally personal to Mallory in a lot of ways.

It probably had something to do with her strict upbringing, and the fact that her military dad and brothers were more interested in being professional to each other instead of a family. Either way, when things went awry—like that time the team had thought Duke switched sides—Mallory was affected differently than the rest.

In that particular instance it had been a personal betrayal to Mallory, and again because of her upbringing, the only defense she had was her temper.

And what a temper it was.

But, like all good ducks, Mallory was well too aware of her faults and was capable of apologizing for them.

Another reason he loved her.

When they were just acquaintances they'd constantly come across hobbies, or simple likes, that they shared together. And every once in a while Wildwing would get the courage to ask the redhead out to lunch or go see a movie.

They could easily talk for hours, and one night they talked right through the movie they'd planned to see.

Wildwing never thought he even had a remote chance with Mallory; she was beautiful, and seemed dead set on her and the others' mission to take down Dragaunas.

The idea that she liked him back never even occurred to him.

When they returned to the Pond that night it was late, and they walked through the corridor to their respective bedrooms without interruptions.

Wildwing's room came first, and thanks to a few drinks he had the nerve (or stupidity) to bend down and kiss Mallory on the side of the beak.

Nothing romantic; a simple, friendly kiss.

Mallory, however, accidentally turned her head the wrong way at the precise moment, causing the kiss to end up straight beak-to-beak.

Human kissing with their mouths usually consisted of what the ducks thought looked like sucking the brains out of each other. Ducks couldn't and wouldn't do that, anyway.

Kissing beak-to-beak was, in their culture, considered extremely intimate. If a duck took either the lower or upper bill of the other duck in their own beak, it made human French kissing look like a platonic handshake.

Tanya said beaks were far more sensitive than human mouths, so that probably had something to do with it.

Either way, they kissed—broke off out of surprise—and came back for more within seconds.

Remembering that night always brought a smile to Wildwing's face, because after that began six long months of side glances, sneaking out and—eventually—sneaking into each other's bedrooms.

The sound of a blow dryer echoed from behind the bathroom door, which meant Mallory was almost ready. Wildwing tucked his hand in his pocket for the umpteenth time and traced the contours of the small box with his fingers.

Being found out by the others had been under less than ideal circumstances. It was both their own fault for postponing telling the others, seemingly indefinitely, but it was still a bit awkward:

Basically, the paparazzi exposed them.

They had been escaping to go on dates together for months, usually telling the others they were going off to do their own thing and at different times of the day. It wasn't really hard to sneak out, since most of the ducks were pretty different enough to enjoy each of their respective hobbies solo.

But they had never thought about the publicity surrounding them when they did so.

So when a full page spread showed up on a tabloid Nosedive read for humor, it was like being caught with your hand in the cookie jar.

Except, in this case, it was being caught kissing out by Sunset Beach, during a—you guessed it—sunset, and with a picnic visible in the background.

Neither Mallory nor Wildwing could keep themselves from turning bright red as they told the rest of their teammates that they'd been seeing each other for just over six months.

In fact, that had been their anniversary date of sorts.

The door suddenly opened, causing Wildwing to jump slightly. Mallory smirked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Daydreaming?"

Wildwing smiled and walked up to her, his arms snaking around her waist. "Just thinking about you."

Mallory rolled her eyes at that, but smiled nonetheless. "You ready to go, Romeo?"

The white-feathered duck nodded, releasing the redhead and glancing at his watch. "Yeah, our reservation is at six so we better head out soon."

Mallory grabbed a jacket that had been draped over the back of a desk chair, putting it on over her dark green blouse and blue jeans. "Reservations? I thought we were going to do casual tonight?"

"It is, don't worry. But it's better to get seats a bit more private no matter where we go, unless you want to be accosted for autographs."

Mallory smiled, taking Wildwing's outstretched hand as they exited his room. "I knew I loved you for a reason."

"Ha, ha."

* * *

Their seats were indeed private, keeping them in what was usually used as a banquet room for parties. Their server, however, seemed to not understand the idea behind where they sat.

"You guys, you won't believe who's here!" she exclaimed excitedly as she exited the room and back into the main area of the restaurant. Wildwing sighed and smiled sheepishly at Mallory.

"Well, the wine's pretty good at least."

"Hmm," Mallory agreed, taking a gulp rather than a sip of the merlot.

However, aside from a few individuals meekly entering the banquet room to ask for a couple of autographs, the rest of the meal went by nicely.

Until dessert.

Their server—Mindy—insisted on giving them dessert on the house. She then proceeded to wheel the dessert cart over and placed various pies, tiramisus, and fruit tarts on the table for the ducks to try. As they politely went to take a bite, Mindy shrieked, startling both of them.

"Oh wait! Stop! You have to pick a dessert wine first!"

"That's not really nec—"

"Here, this one's the best!" Mindy pulled a bottle out from a bucket of ice attached to the cart, wiping the beads of condensation off it with her towel. "Okay guys, I know you've been on this merlot for most of the night, but you must MUST try this amazing dessert wine!" Mindy placed two dessert glasses down and poured the yellowish liquid into each of the glasses.

Wildwing and Mallory both took a sip of the sweet wine reluctantly, since dessert—much less dessert wine—had not been on their plans for the evening.

"That's pretty good, what is it?" Wildwing asked out of politeness.

"Oh, I'm not very good with these foreign names!" Mindy bent over a little to catch the label in the light emanating from the nearby window. "To-ka-ji As—as—zu? Aszú? Whoops!"

Bending over and tipping a wine bottle had not been the brightest act on Mindy's part. Gravity, like gravity usually does, took hold of the liquid inside, and with a quiet pour it splashed down right onto Mallory.

Mallory gasped, unable to form any words or even a vocal expression. Her hands went up to tip the bottle the other way, as Mindy seemed to be frozen in shock and unable to move.

Snapping out of her daze, Mindy quickly turned and put the bottle down. "I'm so sorry, oh my gosh! Oh, and all over the desserts too! Here." Mindy quickly gathered the wine-soaked desserts, albeit too quickly.

When she tried stacking a second plate on her wrist, the plate in her hand holding the fruit tart tipped forward, and the crusty dessert had the help of liquid lubrication to slide right off the plate….

… into Wildwing's lap, upside down, with an insulting _plop_.

"AGH! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Mindy squealed, turning with her arms full to quickly drop the plates back on the dessert cart.

Unfortunately, with her arms extended as they were, her quick turn didn't take into account how close she was to the table, and to the occupant sitting across from Wildwing.

One of the dessert dishes met Mallory's forehead with a _thwap!_, causing the redhead's chair to tip backwards and send her tumbling to the ground.

Wildwing stood up quickly upon seeing her fall, sending the fruit tart still in his lap sailing to the floor. In his hurrying he failed to remember this, and his first step went into the slimy mess.

"Whoa!"

The notorious fruit tart caused Wildwing to slip, tipping him forward into the dessert cart. Mindy barely sidestepped out of the way.

The cart wasn't meant to take much weight, and Wildwing's bulky form sent the metal cart plummeting sideways, the remaining desserts, wine, and glasses catapulting over Mallory, their table, and Wildwing, who now was also on the floor.

Mindy had somehow managed to avoid the catastrophe, still holding a couple of the dessert plates that had been on their table. She cringed at the sight before her.

"I'm … going to get some napkins."


	2. Chapter 2

Mallory and Wildwing walked through the restaurant's parking lot to the duckcycle they had taken, both looking a little worse for wear. Mallory's dark jeans thankfully hid most of the wine stain adorning her thighs, but it did not hide the dark red blotches caused by the cherry pie.

A vigorous scrubbing in the restaurant's restroom had gotten most of the food off her blouse, jacket and hair, but a sizeable bruise could be seen forming on her forehead from where Mindy's softball arm had whacked her with a dish.

Wildwing had also managed to get most of the food stains out of his clothes, aside from the assortment of blotches in a very uncomfortable area thanks to a stubborn fruit tart. To hide the embarrassing coloring he had taken off his jacket and tied it around his waist, using its arms to cover most of the afflicted region on his jeans.

Wildwing looked tired. Mallory looked like it was taking all of her reserved energy to keep from blowing up.

In the restaurant, as they had wiped globs of dessert off their clothes and Mindy left to retrieve more napkins, Wildwing had commented, "I'm surprised you haven't bitten her head off yet."

Mallory, rubbing her head gingerly, had responded, "Well, you told me I should work on controlling my temper." As her hand came back she realized she had tiramisu stuck to her forehead and hair. She angrily threw the pile of food onto the table. "…It's a trying process," she had added through gritted teeth.

Wildwing smirked a little at the memory, causing the present Mallory to side glance him with a raised eyebrow.

"I could have a concussion and you're laughing?"

Wildwing, still smiling, slipped his arm around Mallory's waist. "Aw, you're fine. She did have on hell of an arm though, didn't she?" he used his other hand to tenderly brush some hair away from the developing bruise.

"At least you don't smell like a liquor store."

"No, just an assortment of fruit and whipped cream."

Mallory smiled at that. "Back home to regain what little dignity we have left?"

Wildwing's free hand subconsciously went to the outside of his pocket, relieved to still feel the box nestled inside. Mallory thankfully hadn't noticed his subtle movement so he stopped them next to the duckcycle, turning her towards him. "I was hoping to steal you away for longer than dinner tonight…."

He wrapped his arms around Mallory, bending down to affectionately kiss the bump on her forehead. She cringed a little from the pain but didn't pull away from his embrace.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere inside. The next tabloid would have an exclusive on my newly acquired alcohol problem."

Wildwing laughed, lifting Mallory up and sitting her on the duckcycle. She eyed him suspiciously but swung her leg over as he mounted in front of her on the bike, handing her one of the helmets hanging off the handlebars.

"How about the beach then?"

Mallory smirked, putting the helmet on and wrapping her arms around Wildwing's waist as he gunned the engine. "A little sand never hurt anyone."

* * *

"Wildwing!"

"Hold on, hold on! I'm thinking!"

"Think _faster_!"

Wildwing did not want to change to battlegear, because if he did he'd change all the other team members to battlegear as well, which would basically elude them to an emergency.

And while this was certainly a good time for a puckblaster, it wasn't necessarily an _emergency._

"AGH! Wildwing, please!"

The evening at the beach had at least started out nicely. Seal Beach was only a few miles north of Sunset Beach, and Wildwing had thought it'd be a bit more reclusive than the media frenzy that seemed to swarm the beach Mallory and Wildwing had picnicked at over a year and a half ago.

And, sure enough, it was. They had been able to walk the beach together, talking and laughing and enjoying each other's company, the fiasco at the restaurant earlier almost forgotten.

They had come across some small rocks, easily crossable, which led to what looked like a pretty private retreat in the cliff side. Mallory, with a seductive grin on her face, had grabbed Wildwing's hand and led him over there.

In the moonlight it was hard to tell the rocks from bodies, however, and Mallory had the misfortune of stepping down onto the latter.

With a loud bark, the large seal sat up, causing Mallory to yelp herself as she lost her footing, falling the last couple of feet into the sand.

"Mallory, you okay?"

"What is that!" Mallory shrieked, scrambling up and away as the seal aggressively raised its neck and wormed its way closer to her.

Wildwing, behind the seal and suddenly aware of the half dozen other "rocks" around them in the clearing, cautiously stepped towards Mallory. "They're … seals."

"I thought this place didn't get seals anymore?" Mallory asked, jumping a little as the seal barked at her again.

"I didn't think it did. But it's winter, and I think I read that's when they migrate here, if they do."

"Well, this one isn't too happy with me, Wing. How do I call it off? Wing? WILDWING!"

Wildwing, lost in his thoughts leading up to this sour turn of events, realized present Mallory had been calling to him, continuously backing away from the angered seal. Unable to really do anything else, he ran forward and grabbed the tail of the angry seal, avoiding the other seals that seemed to remain asleep or not care enough to move away from the scene before them.

Knowing it was a stupid idea before doing it, Wildwing gave the tail of the seal a quick yank, channeling the sea mammal's aggressive behavior toward him instead of Mallory. With a furious bark it turned and approached him, causing Wildwing to do the same dance backwards his female companion had been doing moments prior.

Mallory took the opportunity to sneak around to the other side of the clearing, where more rocks enclosed the area from the water below. Wildwing managed to back up where they had entered the alcove and began climbing back up the rocks when the seal gave no sign of easing up on his chasing.

"Can you get up there okay?" Wildwing called, watching Mallory on the other side make her way up the slimy rocks.

"Yeah, I think so. I'll just head over to the beach on the other side and find some stairs that lead back to the main road, okay?"

"Sounds good. Be careful," Wildwing added, finishing his climb to the top of the rocks. Looking down it appeared the angry seal had lost his temper, or was too lazy to chase Wildwing any further. Satisfied that the two ducks were out of the clearing, it settled back into its original resting spot.

Mallory finished her slightly higher climb up the rocks on the other side, smiling at Wildwing before turning to head down to the beach.

The moonlight foiled them again, however, because one "rock" Mallory stepped on turned out to be something else entirely.

More startled than angry like the other seal, this sea mammal barked out of surprise, sitting up and frantically trying to pass Mallory to jump into the ocean behind her.

"Hey, whoa! STOP!" Mallory stumbled backwards, trying to move out of the seal's way as quickly as possible. But on slimy rocks facing a cliff edge, it was pretty much Murphy's Law waiting to happen.

With a shriek and a bark, both Mallory and the seal went into the ocean a dozen feet below, the former falling backwards and the latter diving in intentionally.

"MALLORY!" Wildwing saw the scene unfold and had already been making his way over to her. Without a second thought he dove in after Mallory, wishing more than anything the water below lacked a rocky bottom.


	3. Chapter 3

On the other side of the beach, where Wildwing and Mallory had originally been walking, two figures slowly emerged from the chilly waters. Winter in Anaheim never really dipped below 60 degrees, but the Pacific Ocean—with currents drifting from up north—routinely dipped well below that.

Wildwing had put on his jacket during their walk, seeing as though the night masked the ugly stains on his jeans. Now the jacket clung to him, causing him to gather the ends and ring it out.

Mallory hobbled next to him, causing him to stop and look at her. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

Mallory shook her head, hobbling some more until she stopped and picked up her right foot. Reaching into her boot, she pulled out a rather long piece of seaweed. Sighing, she tossed it back into the water and continued her trek to sand.

When they reached the beach, both sat down, worn-out from the long swim against the strong currents caused by the full moon.

Mallory had been fine when Wildwing jumped in after her, though the constant leg brushing of what Mallory hoped to be more seals was causing her anxiety to peak through the roof. Together they managed to safely maneuver around the rocks they had fallen from and make their way back to the beach.

Wildwing risked a glance over to Mallory, who was currently fighting to remove a twig tangled in her hair. He sighed and, remembering the purpose of this evening, felt down to his pocket.

The box had somehow survived the trip and remained stowed away in his jeans. He let out a breath of relief quietly and stood up, offering his hand to the redhead.

Finally freeing her hair of the twig, Mallory tiredly looked up at Wildwing and took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet.

Wildwing didn't let go, however, and pulled her straight into his arms, hugging her.

"You're shivering," he commented.

"The water's a bit brisk," Mallory lamely responded, wrapping her arms around the larger duck when she felt his body heat resonate through his wet jacket.

"Let's get you home," he said quietly.

"Agreed."

They stood like that for a few moments longer, until Mallory reluctantly pulled away from Wildwing's warmth, both turning to head back to the main road.

"On the bright side, you don't smell like wine anymore."

* * *

The wind was rather chilly against soaked clothes and feathers, so Wildwing opted for a slow ride back to the Pond. Behind him Mallory hugged herself close to him to hide herself from the breeze.

Normally Wildwing would enjoy that, but at the moment he was more concerned with her accidentally brushing her hand against the box, which would probably be more noticeable with his soaked jeans clinging to every inch of him.

As if in answer to his silent worry, the duckcycle's engine chucked a bit and the bike slowly came to a stop, Wildwing watching it with growing realization and despair. As the bike died down he managed to drift it toward the shoulder of the empty street.

"Why are you stopping?" Mallory mumbled behind him, her voice tired and jittery from the cold.

"I'm … not."

That seemed to get Mallory's attention, because she sat up enough to peer over Wildwing's shoulder. "What? What do you mean?"

Wildwing cringed, already knowing how this was going to sound. "It appears … we're out of gas."

"WHAT? We almost had a full tank when we left!" Mallory got off the bike at this point, removing her helmet and looking at the gas gauge. Sure enough, the computer light indicated it was empty.

Wildwing sighed, taking off his own helmet and switching off the engine even though the lack of gas had already turned it off. "I think it's Earth's fuel. Tanya was saying something about how our gauges are beginning to lose accuracy in measuring it because the fuel's so dirty here compared to back home."

Mallory growled in frustration, her hands rubbing her face angrily. "Could _anything _ELSE go wrong tonight?"

Wildwing was beginning to realize this evening might not be the best time to pull out his trusty box, and he again sighed at how karma managed to pluck his tail feathers.

Pulling up his jacket sleeve to reveal his wrist COM, Wildwing said, "It's fine, I'll just COM the—"

Mallory slapped her hand on Wildwing's wrist, covering his COM unit and preventing him from dialing the necessary commands to contact the Pond. He looked up at her in surprise, cutting his own sentence off.

"We are NOT contacting ANYONE to come get us, got that?"

Wildwing, eyes still wide from Mallory's quick reaction, simply nodded.

Mallory released his wrist, her hands going to fists by her sides. "I have been drenched in a saloon and a bakery, attacked by seriously pissed off sea mammals, and have sand in places SAND SHOULD NOT BE! The LAST thing I'm going to do is let Dive or Duke hear about this and mock me for the next six months!" Mallory paced as she vented, her arms angrily and vividly expressing rage that had been building up slowly but surely over the course of the evening.

She paused in her tirade, turning back to Wildwing and shoeing him off the bike. "We are going to walk back to the Pond, sneak in quietly, shower, and NEVER SPEAK OF THIS NIGHT AGAIN." Mallory took a deep breath, switching the duckcycle back into neutral and tossing her and Wildwing's helmet into the storage bin beneath the seats. She grabbed the handlebars of the bike and glanced up at Wildwing, who had yet to say a word. "Clear?"

Wildwing managed to find his voice to answer back: "Crystal."

"Good." Mallory grunted a bit as she began pushing the bike, slowly wheeling it down the street.

Wildwing was going to offer to push the bike for her, but at the moment he wisely walked alongside her, afraid of accidentally redirecting the redhead's anger towards him.

So he smartly kept quiet, only glancing at Mallory every once in a while.

"How far away are we anyway?" Mallory finally asked, the anger in her voice gone and replaced by exhaustion.

Wildwing opened his COM, checking the built-in GPS. "About two miles."

Mallory took a deep breath but didn't say anything more.

After a couple more minutes Wildwing couldn't stand seeing her bent over pushing the bike anymore. Opting for a compromise, he gently took the handlebar closest to him. Mallory looked up at him as he wedged her hand away and, seeing what he was doing, gratefully stood up and kept her other hand on the handlebar closest to her.

Together they could push the bike without bending over, and did so quietly for another five minutes or so.

Mallory eventually sighed, catching Wildwing's attention. She glanced at him and back in front of them quickly. "I'm sorry, Wing."

"For what?"

Mallory released a breathy laugh. "I don't know, for biting your head off maybe?" They reached the main road the Pond was on and slowly turned right onto it. "You're always cool and collected, no matter what. Makes me wonder why you put up with me sometimes."

Wildwing scoffed, shaking his head. "For one, you didn't bite my head off. You just … vented. And two, I'm _not_ always cool and collected. I believe you're the one that tells me I'm a worrywart."

"That's not the same, though."

"Isn't it? I mean, okay, so I don't yell a lot and can mediate most fights. But I lose it when you or Dive get hurt, or are put into danger. I overreact."

"So you worry. You still lead us, and you don't let things like that get in the way."

"I think I would, if it came down to it. And that scares me sometimes."

Mallory paused briefly, glancing over at Wildwing. Her voice was softer when she spoke: "I know he's family, and I'm, well … important to you, but you would never put us over the other guys. That's not you."

Wildwing looked down at the ground. "I want to think that too, but … I don't know."

Mallory watched him for a moment, his eyes boring holes into the ground in front of him. She eventually turned back to the road ahead of her, taking a couple seconds to look up at the clear night sky and bright full moon.

"I know that's not you, Wildwing, because that's not who I fell in love with."

Wildwing looked at her then, his expression unreadable.

Mallory saw him through her peripheral vision but kept her eyes on the road ahead. "You're the leader because no one else can maintain this team the way you do. You respect everyone's ideas, you prioritize safety above all else, and your best attribute is that you don't think you're qualified for the position.

"Your humility, as aggravating as it can be sometimes, makes you always strive to do better. And coming from a military background, I assure you it's a quality most leaders lack." Mallory finally looked over to Wildwing—who had been staring at her as she spoke—and repeated, "It's who I fell in love with."

Wildwing glanced away, almost seemingly embarrassed by her words. He cleared his throat after a moment, saying quietly, "Thank you."

Mallory smiled, amused that even now he was hard-pressed to accept the acclaim. "We don't say it to you often enough, but I guarantee you the rest of the guys would agree hands-down."

Unable to currently form the words of appreciation he wanted to say, Wildwing simply took his hand and placed it on top of Mallory's, who was still holding on to the handlebar closest to her.

His touch caused her to look at him again, and he smiled warmly at her, a gesture that she returned. They remained in amicable silence for the next few minutes after that, Wildwing's hand squeezing Mallory's affectionately before returning to its original position on the handlebars.

Up the road a ways the Pond became visible through the night sky, its large structure indicating they were only a few blocks away from home.

Mallory went to turn the bike towards the billboard sign coming up, where a secret entrance and exit was built to their large underground hangar.

Wildwing stopped her however, motioning towards the Pond itself. "We can't open the garage without the bike being on, so we'll have to just park it outside tonight."

Mallory nodded, sighing a little as they passed the billboard and continued their walk. "I guess we could've tried to find a gas station on the way here."

Wildwing took a glance at his COM. "I was thinking the same thing, but we'd had to have gone a mile out of our way to do it. …And I wasn't keen on bringing up that option earlier." He sheepishly grinned at Mallory when she shot him a glare, but thankfully for him it loosened into a smile and a shake of her head.

"I take back that leader-that-shows-respect stuff I said earlier."

Mallory smirked at him playfully, which made Wildwing smile, both from the snarky comment and the redhead's seemingly better attitude. Maybe the night wouldn't be such a total failure after all.

A gust of wind picked up as they neared the large hockey stadium, causing Mallory to involuntarily shiver. The night air was dropping pretty steadily now, causing their damp attire to become more uncomfortable by the minute.

"How about we go inside, get cleaned up, and I'll make us some hot chocolate; maybe watch a movie?" Wildwing suggested as they trekked across the parking lot towards the side entrance.

Mallory hummed in approval, using her foot to pop out the kickstand of the duckcycle when they reached their destination. With the bike standing on its own she wrapped her arms around herself, watching Wildwing as he removed his keys from the bike and brought them to the door.

When he didn't immediately open the door, Mallory approached him, trying to peer around to see what the problem was. "Wildwing?"

In answer to her hesitant call to him, Wildwing groaned, his forehead resting on the door in frustration. Mallory tilted her head as she stood next to him, watching. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Wildwing laughed a little, though the laugh itself was clearly out of aggravation. "The key's gone."

"What? What do you mean? The key's right there." Mallory reached out, grasping the keys that were still in Wildwing's hands. She looked them over, trying to find the one that opened the side entrance to the Pond.

"It was an old key … it could've fallen off anywhere."

Mallory, realizing she wasn't finding the key on the key ring where it was supposed to be, looked at Wildwing incredulously. "Come on, the one key we need? Maybe it's in your pockets still. Here, let me—"

Mallory reached toward Wildwing's jeans pockets, and Wildwing—out of instinct more than anything—jumped back from her.

Startled, Mallory looked at him. "Are you pranking me right now? Come on, Wildwing, I'm cold and sore and tired. Let's just go in."

She reached for him again, causing Wildwing to take another step back. Mallory growled out of frustration. "Wildwing!"

"I don't have the key, I promise!" Wildwing finally said, realizing he was pushing himself in a corner.

"Then what's with acting like a jumping bean? Just let me check your pockets to be sure!"

"You … can't."

Mallory, obviously annoyed, crossed her arms over herself. "And why not?"

Wildwing thought quickly, but couldn't come up with an excuse. He groaned, his hands coming up to his face to rub his eyes tiredly. "I just wanted to have a really nice night out with you."

His companion lost the edge to her anger as she watched him, but her arms remained crossed over herself. "Wildwing?" she asked questioningly.

"You didn't want to do anything fancy, which was fine. I didn't think that would've been the way to go, anyway. We're not like that. And then we had to have _Mindy_ for a server."

Wildwing, in full rant-mode, began pacing. "So we get to wear our dessert and you get to taste what a softball feels like when it meets a bat. The night's not over though, and for the most part you don't seem too upset. So I suggest the beach.

"I didn't want a paparazzi storm, so I think a new beach we don't normally visit might be better. They're all the same along the coast in the end, right?" Wildwing let out a breathy laugh, still pacing and causing Mallory to look on slightly bemused.

"But I guess Seal Beach is aptly named. So we're covered in wine and fruit tarts and drenched in forty-five degree salt water. The night's pretty much a bust. But I thought, 'Hey, I can still get you home and warmed up, maybe watch a movie we'd been meaning to see.' That's still a good setting for us, right? We've always loved our nights in together, so maybe that makes the most sense anyway."

"Wildwing, what are you—"

"But no, the bike with its faulty tank sensor has to run out of fuel, make us hike home soaking wet, and of all the things I DIDN'T lose in my pockets tonight, the stupid freaking _key_—off a SET of keys, no less—has to somehow magically disappear, leaving us with absolutely no choice but to COM the others to get inside." Wildwing took a deep breath, turning to look at Mallory.

His voice returned to a normal, if not softer pitch, as he continued: "But it somehow managed to stay in my pocket all night, even after a dip in the ocean." Wildwing closed the distance between him and Mallory, one of his hands brushing her damp, cold hair out of her face. "So, it might be the stupidest time to do this, but at this point I really don't have anything to lose."

Mallory looked completely lost, her brow etched in an expression of confusion as she watched Wildwing speechless.

"You think your temper is your worst quality, but I think it's your best. You're passionate about everything you believe in, and in the end you always know when you've crossed the line, so you apologize.

"Your ability to see your own faults and make up for them makes you just as humble, and it's one of biggest reasons I love you. You're always striving to be better for the same reasons you say I am, and I think together we push ourselves even more."

Wildwing reached into that same pocket he'd been constantly checking since this night began, but for the last time. He pulled out the box, clutching it tightly in his hand.

A look of dawning crossed Mallory's face as she looked at the box and up to Wildwing with wide eyes.

"Puckworld and Earth have different ways of doing this, but because Earth is ultimately what brought us together I thought maybe a mix of traditions might be best." Wildwing took a deep breath, shakily using his other hand to open the box.

"Earth likes diamonds for their rarity, but Puckworld likes colored stones since everything's covered in ice…." Wildwing tilted the open box toward Mallory, the small emerald stone sparkling in the center of the white gold ring. "But both Earth and Puckworld also think bigger and gaudier are better. I know you're not a fan of jewelry, so I thought maybe something smaller might suite you."

Wildwing removed the ring from the box, hastily replacing the container in one of the pockets on his windbreaker. "On Puckworld we stand, but I like Earth's idea better." With that statement Wildwing bent down on one knee in front of Mallory, holding up the ring to her.

"And on Earth they ask for your hand in marriage, but I think Puckworld asks it best: Mallory McMallard, will you wear this ring as a symbol of our bond—of our love—and of our commitment to each other as lifemates?"

Wildwing continued to hold up the ring to Mallory, who remained speechless as she looked down at him. Her eyes were uncharacteristically wide with surprise and fear, but after a few fleeting moments of uncertainty her expression softened into a smile.

"Yes to Earth's marriage, and I do commit as lifemates with you, heart mind and soul." Mallory, in Puckworld tradition, grasped Wildwing's hand holding the ring with both of her own. Wildwing smiled and stood up, taking the ring and placing it on Mallory's middle finger of her left hand.

Mallory watched him and, when he was finished, jumped into his arms, kissing him.

Wildwing stumbled back a bit but caught himself from falling, catching her and returning her kiss with eager.

When they broke apart, Wildwing gently put Mallory back on the ground as she admired the ring.

"How long have you been planning this?" she finally asked, looking up at him.

Wildwing rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. "About … two months?" Mallory raised an eyebrow at him, causing him to hastily add, "It took a while to work up the nerve to do it, okay?"

She laughed, shaking her head at him and hugging him around his waist. Wildwing accepted the embrace readily, glad for the stressful task to be over.

"So the night wasn't a complete loss then," he added, kissing the top of her head.

Mallory pulled back to look up at him, her hands on his hips. "There could've been less water and crazy mammals involved—but yeah."

Wildwing grinned and went to kiss her again, but stopped when Mallory frowned and looked down at Wildwing's pants. He followed her gaze but didn't have a chance to question her expression before one of her hands reached into his pockets.

"Hey now-!" Wildwing cried out of surprise, considering his pants were still wet and stuck to him like glue.

Mallory successfully pulled her hand out after some searching, producing what she had presumably felt when her hands had rested on his hips.

Glaring at him in the face, in full brass glory, was the missing key to the side entrance door.

"Heh," Wildwing breathed out of surprise. "Guess it just fell off the key ring after all."

Mallory rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else as she used the key to open the door. Turning back to him with a playful smile, she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside with her.

"At least we don't have to COM the—"

Wildwing and Mallory both stopped, the door behind them loudly squeaking shut. Their entrance had gathered the attention of their teammates, currently scrimmaging on the ice.

"Hey Bro, we were just about to send a posse after you!" Nosedive called from his temporary position as goalie. The rest of the team skated over, waving.

Duke was the first to notice. "Uh, get caught in a storm d'ere sweetheart?"

"Whoa, Bro, you got some … uh something on your pants there," Nosedive motioned to Wildwing's earlier fruit tart incident.

Mallory and Wildwing glanced at each other, the former sighing at the latter groaning.

"Sounds like you guys had an interesting night," Duke commented when the two didn't reply.

Tanya squinted a bit at Mallory. "Is that … oh Drake, is that a ring?"

Wildwing turned to Mallory, ready to say something. She shushed him with a wave of her hand.

"Just … don't."

Wildwing obediently remained quiet but gave Mallory's hand a squeeze before the rest of their teammates had managed to exit the ice rink and barrage them with questions and congratulations. Despite everything she still smiled back at him.

While the night didn't go quite as planned, it certainly wasn't going to be a night they forgot anytime soon.

fin


End file.
